Dutch · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "mijn" in Dutch?

mayn — the ij diphthong rising from "eh" toward "ee," then a firm n. Not the English "mine."

mijn /mɛin/

As a possessive this is normally unstressed and leans on the noun: "mijn FIETS" peaks on the noun. In casual speech it can reduce further to "m'n," which is a written form in its own right.

Listen: mijn

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Sound it out

m Lips closed, voice on, then released into the diphthong.

ij The Dutch diphthong: begin around the vowel of "met" and rise toward "ee." It is identical in sound to the spelling ei, and northern speakers start it noticeably low.

n A firm closing n with the tongue tip on the ridge. It cuts the glide off rather than letting it trail away.

Hear it in a sentence

Dat is mijn fiets.

That's my bike.

Listen: Dat is mijn fiets.

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"Dat is mijn fiets" puts the possessive directly before the noun with no article, exactly as English does. "Fiets" carries the long "ee" and the sentence's main beat, so "mijn" should be said quickly and lightly on the way to it.

Where English speakers slip

Reading ij as "eye" produces "mine," which is doubly tempting because the meaning matches. The Dutch diphthong starts much higher in the mouth. Learners also give the possessive a full beat, when Dutch reduces it — over-stressing "mijn" makes every statement sound like a territorial claim.